PROVIDENCE - Department of Environmental Management Director Jan H. Reitsma will unveil a major initiative designed to make DEM more efficient, responsive and accountable to the public at a noontime press briefing on Friday, October 8 in the DEM Executive Offices.

Work Plan 2000 charts the future course of DEM with a clearly defined set of goals, strategies, environmental indicators and performance measures for every bureau and division within the Department. It also includes innovative watershed work plans for two pilot areas - the South County region and the Woonasquatucket watershed.

Director Reitsma calls Work Plan 2000 "a critical step in the transformation of DEM into a performance-driven agency that produces real environmental improvements in ways the public can understand and support. It is vital that we explain what the Department intends to get done within specific timeframes, the resources and strategies we will use, and how our customers can track whether we perform as promised," he said.

The newly developed work plan bears Director Reitsma's imprimatur, and is driven by his vision of DEM as a results-oriented department that is not afraid to account for its performance. The plan acknowledges complaints about the Department's permitting, enforcement and customer service operations and outlines detailed strategies to address these concerns. Importantly, "open and effective government" has been added to the customary, environmental quality related goals for the Department.

DEM will hold a series of forums to solicit public comment about the work plan over the next several months, and make appropriate adjustments to the document. The work plan will also be available on DEM's web site: http://www.dem.state.ri.us.